Yes, that’s right. That’s about all it takes for Smith to turn into Jackson if you mess with one vital ingredient for an NFL quarterback: interception percentage.

Infamous in the past for committing killer mistakes, the new-and-improved Smith has thrown five interceptions in 389 attempts. He hasn’t thrown a pick in his past 103 attempts dating back to a 16-6 loss to the Ravens on Thanksgiving, giving him a chance to not throw an interception from Black Friday to 2012.

Smith’s ability to limit mistakes hasn’t elevated him to a Pro Bowl level (sorry, coach). But it has separated him from quarterbacks such as Jackson, who opened the 2011 season with a better career passer rating than Smith (76.6 to 72.1).

This season, Smith, based on passer rating, is a top-10 quarterback (his 91.1 rating ranks ninth). Jackson ranks 23rd with a 79.2 rating.

The only significant statistical difference between the quarterbacks in 2011 is their interception percentage. As noted in the above recipe, Smith’s is 1.3 and Jackson’s is 3.1.